Stella City.
An underground prison housed those who had violated the city's rules and laws. For now, they were few. Most cases were related to nighttime brawls in taverns. As a growing city, Stella was trying to minimize such incidents, and compared to other cities in the cultivation world, the number of offenders was considerably lower.
Still, such problems persisted. That's why the dungeon was built. Currently, in a deep cell, one of the cultivators responsible for the last attack on the city was chained.
The metallic screech of the door opening echoed in the hallway, and the prisoner lifted his head. Unlike other imprisoned cultivators, his physical state was noticeably better; his skin wasn't as pale and he seemed to have recovered.
The reason was simple, the soldiers in charge of the prison had been feeding him better in recent days, following direct orders from Ethan. They wanted him to regain his strength.
A squad from the Astralis army watched him from outside the cell. Two soldiers stepped forward with firm steps and stopped in front of the cultivator.
"Don't try anything. If you resist or make the slightest hostile move, we'll blow your head off," one of them warned coldly.
The prisoner trembled and glanced at the other eight soldiers stationed nearby. Under normal circumstances, he would have despised that insolent mortal—might have slapped him to death. But upon seeing their cold stares and weapons ready to fire, he didn't dare respond. He could only nod in silence.
The two soldiers approached and took hold of the prisoner by the arms and shoulders, forcefully lowering his head. A third soon entered with a set of keys and began unlocking the thick chains binding his limbs. As soon as the final click of the upper and lower shackles sounded, the soldiers reacted instantly, taking him down with precision and pinning him to the ground.
One of them drove his knee into the upper part of the prisoner's back. Then, with trained movements, they placed black steel handcuffs on his wrists.
Once secured, they lifted him by force. One soldier placed the barrel of his weapon directly against the prisoner's nape, while another roughly pushed his head down, forcing him to look at the ground. They made him walk in that position—hunched, forced, submissive. It was the protocol used for high-risk prisoners.
Upon exiting the cell, the eight stationed soldiers split into two groups—four in front and four behind. The prisoner was escorted straight to the surface.
Just as a ray of light touched his face through the exit door, the soldiers opened the gates of a black carriage. Armored, unmarked, with a single sliding window reinforced with steel bars. It was designed specifically for transporting dangerous targets.
The two soldiers forced him inside. The compartment had two rows of facing seats. There, they made him lie face down on the metal floor. Then they sat down, placing the weight of their boots on his back and legs to prevent any movement.
Two more soldiers entered the vehicle, taking seats at his sides, aiming rifles at him, ready to shoot. Any deviation from protocol and he would die instantly.
The cultivator, eyes filled with fear, didn't dare resist. He still remembered the terror of those weapons.
The journey proceeded without incident. They passed through the city and headed to the outskirts, toward Astralis's military base. After clearing several checkpoints, they arrived at an area enclosed by a metal perimeter fence. Once across it, large and small buildings could be seen, with an aesthetic similar to Omega Zero.
Upon reaching the designated area, they guided the prisoner to a restricted zone. In the distance, a small two-story building could be seen. No regular Astralis soldiers were stationed there, but a squad of Vespers guarded the facility.
As they approached, the Astralis soldiers halted. With looks of respect, they stood at attention and saluted the Vespers. The soldiers handed the prisoner over to two Vespers, who nodded silently and ordered them to leave.
The soldiers responded with a respectful salute and withdrew in formation. Meanwhile, the Vespers led the prisoner to the back of the building, where what looked like a training field was located.
At the training field, the Vesper captains and soldiers were already gathered. Most of the personnel deployed in Stella City were present, except for a few who remained at their assigned posts.
As the escort squad reached the central area, all eyes turned toward the prisoner. Without verbal orders, the Vespers quickly formed up, surrounding the space. They opened a circle in the center of the field, watching closely.
The field was spacious, but with so many Vespers gathered, the atmosphere grew heavy—almost oppressive. The pressure was tangible, a military aura that would crush the spirit of any untrained mortal. Even an experienced cultivator would feel the weight of their presence.
The prisoner, seeing so many soldiers surrounding him with cold, silent expressions, could not help the fear that crept into his eyes.
The two Vespers who had escorted him stopped at the center of the circle. They allowed the cultivator to sit on the ground, but his restraints remained. They showed no hurry. They were waiting.
From the second floor of the building, with a privileged view of the training field, Ethan observed in silence, seated by the window. Behind him, the Hu brothers and Officer Wei stood firm, attentive, as if they too were waiting for something.
"AION, open the file on Hu Zhan and that cultivator," Ethan ordered in his mind, without taking his eyes off the field.
[Prisoner File | Classification Level: C]
Name: Wei Tongli
Cultivation: Qi Cultivator–5th Level.
Bone Age: 48 years
Confirmed Affiliation: Subordinate of the criminal cultivator known as Black Centipede.
Criminal Association: Operational member of the "Black Centipede's Group," a cell of mercenaries and bandits active in the southern and eastern areas of the Yun Dynasty for the past 12 years.
Criminal Record: Under specialized interrogation and information extraction techniques applied by the Vesper Squad, the subject confessed and acknowledged direct or indirect participation in the following crimes:
– Murder of at least thousands of individuals, including: mortals (caravan workers, innkeepers, farmers), rogue cultivators, members of minor clans, independent merchants.
– Participation in 13 acts of organized looting of villages and trade posts.
– Systematic theft of cargo, talismans, low-grade spiritual artifacts, and common-use goods.
– Rape of women during village occupations and attacks.
– Deliberate attacks on civilian structures.
Final Evaluation: Individual with a serious and repeat criminal record, no remorse shown during initial phase. Represents a threat to regional stability if not neutralized. His role as enforcer under Black Centipede ties him to organized transnational crime structures.
[Recommended Sentence: Death Penalty.
According to the Penal Code:
– Aggravated intentional homicide
– Rape
– Armed robbery in a gang
– Participation in criminal organizations with the purpose of systematic violence
The accumulation of crimes qualifies for immediate execution or retention for experimental/military use under special jurisdiction.]
Ethan reviewed the entire file with icy calm, his fingers slowly tapping the hard surface of the wooden table.
He showed no reaction when reading about the murder of rogue cultivators or members of minor clans. Although some of them might have been innocent, his time in this world had taught him that the path of cultivation was cruel by nature. Whoever chooses to cultivate challenges the heavens and accepts—consciously or not—that they will have to stain their hands with blood to advance. It was a perpetual struggle for resources, techniques, and power. On that path, no one who had climbed high enough could consider themselves clean.
But for him, mortals were another story. Villagers, farmers, artisans—people with no means of defending themselves... that was different. Attacking the weak was not cultivation; it was cowardice disguised as power. Ethan did not pretend to be a saint. He knew that his decisions had cost lives, directly or indirectly, especially in the name of progress and stability. But he had never taken pleasure in harming the innocent. And for that reason, despite the blood spilled, his conscience remained clean.
In his judgment, Wei Tongli did not deserve mercy. Death or torture, perhaps even both. In certain cases, he thought, death was too light a punishment.
Ethan sighed, allowing his thoughts to wander for a moment.
Evil cultivators, righteous cultivators, cultivation families, sects, dynasties...
That distinction was little more than an illusion. A clear example was the Xuan family, one of the dominant families in Black Rock City. Officially, they belonged to the so-called righteous path, recognized by the Yun Dynasty. But they did not hide their crimes; in fact, they did not even bother to disguise them. Anyone who looked into it even briefly would know: extortion, subjugation of mortals, slavery, brutal repression.
And yet, they were accepted. Because in this world, morality did not matter.
Ethan shifted his gaze to another file on the interface.
[Vesper Special Forces File | Classification Level: S | Restricted Access]
Name: Hu Zhan
Genetic Sequence: Level 1.
Bone Age: 29 years
Recorded Physical Strength: 993 kg
Affiliation: Vesper Special Forces, Personal Guard of the Astralis Leader
Current Status: Active
Ethan reviewed the files of both individuals without haste. The reason he was here, and why he had ordered the cultivator prisoner to be brought, was because he needed to confirm, with facts, the theoretical projections of the Human Sequences.
Until now, all the information gathered had come from simulations, laboratory models, and dissections of cultivator corpses. Based on those studies, he had developed a hypothesis: a fully stabilized human in First Sequence should be capable of facing—and even defeating—a cultivator between the sixth and seventh Qi levels.
Beyond that point—the eighth or ninth level—there was still insufficient data.
The key to a cultivator's power lay in their Qi: techniques, spells, spiritual arts, shields, and ranged attacks. Without those tools, they were still ordinary humans. Yes, they could temporarily reinforce their bodies, hardening skin and muscles with certain techniques, but that had limits. Their skin, without active protection, could be pierced. Their organs, ruptured. Their bones, broken. A cultivator's body was not invulnerable; their defense lay in their energy, not their flesh.
In a direct hand-to-hand fight, without prior preparation or active defensive techniques, a First Sequence human was a lethal threat.
Even against ninth-level cultivators, he estimated that a single well-placed strike, if they lacked Qi armor or active reinforcement, could be fatal.
Ethan raised his eyes and directed his gaze toward the center of the training field. The Vespers were still surrounding the prisoner, firm, completely silent.
"Proceed," Ethan said firmly as he turned to Hu Zhan at his side. "Remember to use your full strength. This is not just a test match. This is the first real battle between a common human, without spiritual roots, enhanced by the Genetic Sequence... and an immortal cultivator."
This fight is not just about gathering technical data or validating lab simulations. This battle represents a milestone. A decisive step toward humanity's independence from the cultivators' dominion.
That is what's at stake.
The room fell silent. Hu Jian and Officer Wei kept their eyes down. Hu Zhan raised his head, his eyes firm and his expression solemn.
"Understood, Master. I will not disappoint you."
Without another word, he turned on his heels and left the room with determined steps, under the watchful eyes of everyone present.